UK bans import of cattle, pigs and sheep from Germany

The UK has banned imports of cattle, pigs and sheep from Germany to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease.

Last Friday, German authorities confirmed the country's first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in nearly 40 years in a herd of water buffalo on the outskirts of Berlin.

Foot-and-mouth disease causes fever and mouth blisters in cloven-hoofed ruminants such as cattle, swine, sheep and goats.

The UK government said the disease poses no risk to human health or food safety and there are no cases of foot and mouth in the UK currently.

"We have robust contingency plans in place to manage the risk of this disease to protect farmers and Britain's food security, which means using all measures to limit the risk incursion and spread of this devastating disease," UK Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said.

"I would urge livestock keepers to exercise the upmost vigilance for signs of disease."

There have been no imports of cattle, sheep or pigs, from Germany to Ireland since last November, the Department of Agriculture said in a statement last week.

Minister for Agriculture Charlie Mconalogue said confirmation of the cases in Germany are "a terrible blow to German farmers", adding that the German authorities are working hard to resolve the situation.

He urged people here to stay vigilant and "protect our Irish livestock".

The department said that if a case of foot-and-mouth disease was identified in Ireland, the infected herd would be culled, the site disinfected, and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone set up, with very strict movement controls and testing.